Topic: Foxconn

Suppliers are expected to begin providing components for a so-called "iPad Pro" in late September, but Apple is said to be taking a conservative approach in placing orders for its anticipated 12.9-inch touchscreen tablet.

Longtime Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn will handle the bulk of production for the company's next-generation iPhone, and will also be the sole manufacturer of the anticipated 12.9-inch iPad, both on track to launch this fall, according to well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Asian manufacturer Hon Hai -- better known as Foxconn -- on Friday reported its highest first-quarter profit growth in a decade with a 56 percent jump year-over-year, driven at least in part by strong sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, one of Apple's closest partners, is under fire in Brazil as officials in the South American nation are displeased with the company's slow rate of progress on what was initially sold as a major investment to modernize the Brazilian manufacturing industry.

Long thought of as a soulless megacorp that treats workers as disposable cogs in its constantly-grinding machinery, Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn -- one of Apple's closest partners -- granted a rare look inside its Shenzhen factory gates as it attempts to alter that perception.

Apple's just-launched Chinese iPhone and iPad trade-in program is already meeting with a tepid response in the country, particularly in light of the prices of new devices and higher trade-in values at third-party recycling companies.

Apple iPhone and iPad owners living in Greater China are now able visit one of the country's 18 Apple Store locations to trade in their old hardware for store credit, which can subsequently be applied to a new device purchase.

Component manufacturer Japan Display on Friday officially unveiled plans for a new $1.4 billion display plant in central Japan, with Apple reportedly investing in the facility to secure supplies of advanced LCD panels for its products.

Foxconn's Innolux will build a new $2.6 billion sixth-generation plant in Southern Taiwan to supply displays exclusively to Apple, after the iPhone maker made an "urgent" request, it was announced on Thursday.

Apple is rumored to be finalizing its supply chain plans for this year's anticipated iPhone update, with longtime partner Foxconn unsurprisingly expected to receive the bulk of orders for the new, larger "iPhone 6."

According to a report on Tuesday, Google's Andy Rubin and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou have been discussing cutting edge robotics technology, including an operating system built to run manufacturing machines.

Taiwanese police have reportedly arrested at least a dozen current and former senior managers at Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn on charges that the group accepted bribes from upstream iPhone component suppliers.

In a bid to increase supply of Apple's flagship iPhone 5s, Foxconn -- the company's largest manufacturing partner -- has dedicated 100 assembly lines to the handset and is now operating 24-hours-per-day, according to Foxconn executives.

Foxconn plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania as part of a $40 million investment by the Taiwan-based electronics maker, which is responsible for building the bulk of Apple's products.

Apple's relationship with original equipment manufacturers has changed in a significant way, as manufacturing partners are no longer responsible for component procurement and production, according to a new report.

Foxconn's major factory in the city of Zhengzhou in northern China will allegedly cease production of Apple's plastic-backed iPhone 5c, according to a new report, in order to focus on producing the more popular flagship iPhone 5s.